The course website and blog for the Fall 2016 instance of Penn State's SC200 course

Congratulations! You’re pregnant! Is one of the most exciting phrases a woman can hear second to, “Will You Marry Me”. Other than the early pregnancy symptoms, swollen feet and the huge round object that took place of where your tummy used to be; pregnancy sounds like the best time of woman’s life. Although, modern society has conformed sex for personal pleasure instead of its sole purpose of reproduction, I would like to spread the love of pregnancy and help women embrace the blessing of reproduction. (This is not an anti abortion post, as for what you decide to do with your body is not my prerogative, just spreading good vibes.)

Embracement, is important for a healthy pregnancy. Embracement should be practiced during prenatal care; positive reinforcement in social settings and humane values help in a holistic way. Stress can interfere with conceiving a child. Stress affects the way the hypothalamus (brain gland that controls emotions, appetite and hormones). During early child development if the mother is stress she is at a high risk for miscarriage (a loss of pregnancy). Miscarriage symptoms consist of bleeding or spotting and abdominal pain. Although straying away from stress is important for a healthy life period, during pregnancy the body is more sensitive because of increased hormones. Therefore the first step to a healthy pregnancy is embracemenet.

HAVE fun

Although your pregnant it doesn’t mean your social life is over nor’ you can’t have fun. To help celebrate your little bundle of joy there are a couple activities women can do.

1.Dinner reservations: In the first tri-mester eating may be a little difficult because the female senses are sensitive. Certain smells and foods may not be appealing to you anymore. But when that stage passes get ready to take your taste buds on a roller coaster ride of food heaven and embrace the pregnancy cravings. Don’t think of these cravings as weird, instead it helps broaden your pallet and hey you never know, bacon and ice cream may be the next great combination meal.

2.Shopping. I don’t know about you girls but shopping is my go to “pick me up” when having a down day. I mean, who doesn’t want to spoil themselves and look stylish while doing it. That “itsy bitsy teenie weenie yellow polka dot bikini” is not going to fit you the same once you pack on the extra pounds of a little one in your pouch. No need to get depressed, you’ll snap back, although you may feel like a swollen stress ball doesn’t mean you have to look like it. Going out with your girls or mate for a shopping spree is totally worth it. No way, can we have Kim Kardashian and Chrissy Teigen take on the roll of being a milf without chiming in.

3.Baby Genius. You don’t have to wait 9 months to play with your little one. Buy some headphones and have a jam session with your baby. Studies prove that babies who are exposed to classical sounds when younger have a greater faster cognitive brain development. You can also read, to him or her. I’m sure the baby won’t be able to identify the plot, setting and the stories main characters. But hearing the vibrations of his/her mother’s tone is always pleasing.

I’m sure when girls have their first pregnancy scare, this is not what they want to hear but this post was created to put the “scare” to ease. Having a baby is not the end of the world. Modern day society has created the birth of a child to feel like a burden. Yes, unlike other mammals, having a baby can be expensive and a burden if not prepared for. But when life gives you lemons create lemonade, meaning don’t be a upset, everything happens for a reason. It’s the way you react that determines the outcome.

We live in a generation full of double standards, but thankfully the women in my generation refuse to conform to societies “status quo” of how a woman should act on her sexual desires. The words hoe, thot, slut, smut were conducted by men to control women in the patriarchal society/world. A wise man Dr. Umar Johnson, human rights activist, once made a statement something along the lines of, you must first destroy the image before you destroy the person. Meaning if you can convince the world that people will be better off without “sexual” women, then when the physical dissemination occurs, no one will care. Women were always taught that their worth depends on their sexual “purity”. Therefore, as I search for answers on the female arousal, it correlates to perception factors like gender role expectations and sexual motivation. Restricting the hormone levels of women sexual thoughts. Which makes it difficult for any research to be conducted properly in regards to what women really want because if women express how they feel they tend to be categorized as promiscuous. Stephen Hamann proved that women have higher sexual arousal than men, but it does not trigger senses in the amygdala.

Hormones that influence sexual motivation are testosterone, estrogen and progesterone. In males testosterone is the key factor for sexual motivation as for estrogen and progesterone is in women. You would think because we have double the hormones we would crave sexual interaction just as much as men, right? But I guess that research suffered the file-drawer problem along with everything else containing women sexual desires. Studies show that age play a major component in women sexual desire. Healthy younger women has more circulating hormones in their bodies, in contrary to the 40 year old woman. Which probably is why researchers are now finding out women have similar sexual desires as men, they are studying the wrong age.

This year research was conducted proving that women desired sex just as much as men do but don’t act on it because they’re afraid of social judgment. For years studies have been supporting men having a higher sex drive than women. That has been proved to be a myth, women and men are very similar in sexual desire. Either women desires suffered the “file-drawer problem” or women were never fully experimented. If you’re ready to cope with the reality of a females libido, then you’re at the right blog post.

Journalist Daniel Bergner finally illustrated a book acknowledging women sexual wants, named What Do Women Want? Adventures in the Science of Female Desire. After examining animal and humans footage subjects, Daniel concludes that all women want is sex just as much as men. He ends the stereotype of the female sex drive being derived from emotional intimacy. He advised that women might be less monogamous than men. Like, hello; Daniel Bergner may be up to something here. Putting an end to the theory that women only want sex in order to get an emotional connection/ relationship out of the man.

The next time you want to judge a female because of her sexual desire, don’t. Remember that she is too a human who has needs. Do not allow society to influence a woman’s natural desire.

Former best rapper alive Lil Wayne, said it best, “safe sex is great sex, you better wear a latex” (record scratches) or birth control?

Since the invention of female birth control contraception, the question before sexual intercourse is “are you on birth control” before the question “do you have a condom”. Yes, birth control prevents pregnancy but what about STD’s? I’m sure I don’t have to inform you guys that condoms are not only for the prevention of pregnancy but as well as sexually transmitted diseases, so I won’t. Instead I’m here to inform the ladies on contraception usage. The good, bad, short term and long term effects birth control can have if any on woman.

Speaking from experience women tend to be the ones responsible for asking to use contraception in contrast to men. Men would use the excuse condoms desensitize the “full sexual experience” to not use a condom. But 9 times out of 10 they are opposed to using condoms because they find the woman highly attractive. I mean thanks for the compliment guys, but let’s think with our heads and not your “head”.

I recently had “girl talk ” with my roommates and I felt it was important to share with other ladies who may not know the importance of a healthy sex life. The concept of consuming a pill daily that restricts females from their natural reproductive system can be risky.Birth control is a ovulation contraception that comes in various forms; pill, patch, ring or a needle shot. All of these forms inject your body with two doses of hormones called estrogen and progesterone. When these two substances are combined, they have the ability to thin the lining of the uterus(endometrium) which makes it more difficult to fertilize an egg. Thickening the cervical mucus by preventing sperm from fertilizing the egg and preventing ovaries from releasing eggs. Like all manufactured medications, birth control comes with a side effect disclaimer by pharmacists before taking it.

Some short-term side effects

1.Nausea. Depending on your body’s reaction to pills nausea may be a side effect of yours. The estrogen and progesterone level may be too high of a dosage causing women to feel unsettled.

Increasedappetite. You ladies are used to this during PMS I’m sure. That sudden craving for chocolate at 2am, yeah imagine that every time you take a BC pill? Get ready to pack on the pounds ladies because it’s a coming if you take the pill.

Discharge. Second generation birth controls cause blood clots and lubrication decrease. Decrease in vaginal lubrication can cause sexual intercourse to become difficult and painful. I don’t know about you ladies but , isn’t this the reason why we get on birth control? Women’s health expert and OBGYN, Dr. Cerdena believe the issue can be prevented during the process of which women pick their birth control. The level of progesterone determines this.

Long-term effects

Synthetic consumption: Studies have not been proven that thhe use of synthetic estrogen and progesterone to be harmful. Yet, I don’t feel that consuming anything artificial to be healthy for the body.

Breast Cancer. Around 2002 birth control was stopped because of the risk factors of causing breast cancer in women. The synthetic hormones used in birth control were the same found in hormone replacement therapy, which increase chance of blood clots in the breast by at least1% yearly. Hormone replacement therapy with progesterone increased the risk by 8%. After a couple of years using birth control the risk factor increases to approximately 30%.

heart complications: Using birth control for a long period of time increases the risk of plaque building on your arteries. A research study was conducted using 1300 healthy women who used birth control for 10+ years. The women were proven to have plaque in their arteries. Every ten years this risk increased.

The Good

Pregnancy risk: Birth control claims to be 99% effective if used correctly. I know we all know that one female who may have gotten pregnant while using birth control. But she may not have used the contraceptive correctly or must have been really fertile. For the most part having sex without having to “pull out” or worry about the condom breaking is always a relief and allows you and your partner to really enjoy one another.

Healthy skin: Newer birth controls have been proven to contain vitamins. Helping strengthen skin, hair and nails. Birth control doesn’t act like proactive, you won’t see result immediately but after a few consumptions, acne improvement will happen.

Painful menstrual cycle. If I ever contemplated using birth control this is the sole purpose why. For all my ladies who have excruciating cramps, birth control is said to help reduce the pain. The thinner the uterine liner the less pressure is placed on the abdomen to decrease the painful cramping days.

Still contemplating BC ? I know, Im not sold completely either. At least now that a couple facts are placed, you ladies can conduct a research of your own and form your own opinion. Whatever you do don’t remain safe, and don’t let anyone manipulate you in taking something because “everyone is doing it”.

While the leaves turn brown, the trees go bare and the temperature decreases. The human desire of affection from a significant other increases. During the transition from Fall to Winter is what the millennia’s like to call the beginning of “Cuffing Season”. Cuffing Season is the season in which serious relationshipscommence and majority of promiscuous singles find themselves at a crossroads. People who identify themselves as independent, carefree, young adults tend to feel otherwise once the weather falls under 45 degrees. Humans no longer want to play the independent role that comes along with being single. Instead they normally find themselves partaking in “Cuffing season”. Cuffing season is full of holidays such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Valentine’s Day. These holidays are normally full of love and relatives creating memories and experiences. During these holidays are when boyfriends and girlfriends are introduced to the family and memories of their own are normally conducted. During the holidays is the only time most families get together. Subconsciously during these times the mind associates desire. But why is that? How does physical warmth correlate to psychological warmth? For those of you who are curious as to why single people desire to become dependent; this blog post is for you.

” Im not sold! I don’t think cuffing season is real. Where are the facts?”

Before the development of our modern human society we know and love; civilization went through a time period called the Stone Age. During the Stone Age a method called hunting and gathering, the invention of agriculture, came in to place for hibernation and survival purposes. Hibernation and surviving was difficult during the winter due to beastly animals and scarce resources. Therefore, having a mate was important to help increase your chance of survival. While one hunts for meat the other gathered twigs and berries to maintain not only a nutritional balance but for heat/firewood. Causing cuffing season to be our “Mating season”. Now, that you have the history of why you may feel the need to be desired during the cold weather. Cuffing “the desire to date”, being a natural survival mechanism during the winter. I believe there is a correlation between physical warmth and psychological warmth.

“Okay, but how does this correlate to science”

There has been data collected that associates with “cuffing season”. Scientific experimental study conducted by social psychologist John Bargh 7allowed 53 (51% percent female) participants to hold both cold and warm packs to determine psychological warmth with physical warmth. Recipients answered yes or no multiple choice questionnaires in regards to pleasantness, and effectiveness. The experiment had one control substance; the temperature of the packs. Studies showed that the cold pack participants identified with loneliness and antisocialness. These participants at the end of the experiment were given the option to give a gift (dependent variable) to a friend or to keep a gift for themselves. The gift option at the end of the trial was used to determine whether the participants were prosocial. 75% of the cold pack holders chose the gift for themselves while 25% chose a gift for a friend. In contrast, to those given warmth who 54% chose a gift for a friend and 45% chose for themselves. Predictable with my hypothesis, people who are exposed to physical warmth crave interpersonal warmth.

Based upon psychologist John Bowlby attachment theory, it is possible that security and physical warmth provided by caretakers connect to psychological warmth. Bowlby’s attachment theory concluded that children are brought into the world with a natural instinct to form connections with people in order to survive. In order for an infant to survive he/she must maintain physical closeness to caretaker during their helpless times as an infant. This allows the infant to become dependent on the caretaker for love, food, shelter etc. Teaching the infant trust during the physical time-shared with the responsible caretaker. During this experience of attachment a mental correlation in the insular cortex develops and processes the association between physical and psychological warmth. The insular cortex is made up of two regions: the anterior and posterior insula. The posterior insula is heightened/active when a temperature and touch sensation occurs. This is known because during a thermo sensory activation of insular cortex participants who were exposed to thermal intensity produced an increase of activation in the posterior insula. In contrast, to the anterior insula which is heightened/active during emotional interaction such as social rejection or unfair behavior. The insula is linked to both physiological processes and emotion. The insula manipulates interpersonal experience, feelings, desire, motives, sight, cognitive functioning and motor control.

For these theoretical reasons I hypothesize that temperature and touch sensation (physical warmth) correlates to emotions (psychological warmth). Which then subconsciously influences the behavior in which humans interact with one another.

The season is changing and finals are approaching.You know what that means, the library and every study hall will be full of students with their nose in a book. Spending countless hours attempting to retain academic literature they most likely would not remember two weeks after their exam. But yet, every lyric to a new song on the radio is remember from years on in. As I listen to music and write this post I ask myself. Why, is it that the things we are taught in a college lecture more difficult to remember than “I know when that hotline bling” lyrics to songs?
Music is an art of expression, using vocals and instruments to form a harmony which then evokes emotion and memories. PhD, music professor, current musician Jonathan Berger and his colleagues at Stanford University School of Medicine conducted a research showing how music correlates to cognitive ability. The researchers focused on the areas of the brain in which cognitive abilities such as human retention, human projection and memory event improvement occur.
The professors coordinated a research using an fMRI (functional magnetic resonance image) taking images of the brain while the brain was listening to music to see which areas of the brain would be active. They noticed that in order for the brain to understand a continuous flow, it extracts information into sections from beginnings, endings, and the in-betweens of an event. They then called this form of operation “event segmentation”. The purpose of this observational study was to analyze which parts of the brain are affected when listening to music. It specifically showed the correlation of music and how it enhances the brains ability to predict events and retain attention. In the brain memory has three storage systems. Each system serves a different purpose. From this foundational study, the functional magnetic resonance image scan showed the brain progressing, responding to different harmonies and phases. Brief breaks in tempos followed by new beats activates the first network called the ventral fronto-temporal network. The dorsal fronto-parietal network, the second network, turns the spotlight of attention to the change and, upon the next event beginning, updates working memory.
(Clip of how cognitive activity increases during the transition breaks as music is played.)

How the brain creates memoryEncoding is an important factor in retaining memory. Encoding is a process in which perception through the senses is used to construct an idea that can be stored in the brain. When an event catches our attention, the neurons in our brain activate, storing a short-term memory of the event. Now, once multiple senses are involved such as touch, scent, and in this case listening, it increases the chances of the event “sticking” and being stored in or long-term memory bank.
For an example, emotion, when emotions are evoked in a person their attention increases. Have you ever noticed when you have a crush on someone you remember everything about them, their scent, laugh and a whole bunch of other things you would have never noticed on someone you see everyday like your professor? Our brain uses multiple networks to store and retrieve information. The same thing happens when you listen to music. When listening to music our brain has multiple influences to help us remember the song like rhythm, lyrics, just like with your crush and their favorite perfume or cologne. Memory retrieval requires revisiting the neuron pathways the brain processed in order to encode the memory. Therefore it is easy to remember lyrics in a song because music evokes emotion which links it to related memories.Repetition
When listening to a song we have multiple perceptions (the rhythm, tones, and lyrics) that influence how we remember what we heard. A specific beat, instrument, or adlib helps us remember the lyrics to a song because of the rhyme and pattern. For an example, the tune “dun dun dun dun” automatically translates to the lyrics “here comes the bride”,for people who heard the song before of course. Why is that? The beat often coincides with the lyric, making it easier to eliminate words that do not continuously flow (syllable) with the beat. Making it often easier to predict the lyrics to a song if you remember the tone. The art of repetition is important when trying to retain information and songs naturally repeat themselves.
In this experiment, an experiment was conducted. The experiment showed how a new song words were retained faster than a college students studies.
I am a huge procrastinator because I learned long ago “cramming” is how I retain information. Until I noticed I wasn’t retaining the information but instead I would just memorize the material. I thought it was because I would listen to music instead of paying attention. After researching this topic, I concluded that music isn’t the issue, it’s the resolution and I should try turning my notes into a song.

Every woman wants to feel beautiful and for some reason beauty is influenced by media. Women who are categorized as beautiful are normally the ones we frequently see on television, magazines, etc. Other than body structures, what differentiates the ‘average’ woman from women in media? Makeup. For years humans have used items to enhance and emphasize their features. Makeup, to be specific has been used as a beauty enhancer for over 10,000+ years. I know, when I heard 10,000 years ago I thought, stone age. So I know what you ladies are thinking, “cave women knew how to apply eyeliner?” Well, It wasn’t exactly called eyeliner back then but the concept/purpose was still the same.

In ancient Greece women used powered lead (which later became poisonous) to maintain a pale skin tone. While in China both men an women used makeup for social class structure by painting their nails with gum during the ages 3000 BC. Alongside, women in ancient Egypt who wore a substance named kohl to darken their eyes and give it a more almond shape to accentuate eye beauty, in comparison, to the modern day eyeliner. As well, as rouge, which both men and women used on the lips just like modern day lipstick. Before modern day chemist created a healthier way to use makeup. Women such as the greeks passed away for using such harsh chemicals on their skin.

So, now we know why people use makeup. The question is why does makeup work? Why and or how does it intrigue people. Most will say because of the impact society has on makeup but from a scientific perspective, makeup is used to exaggerate our natural youthful features. Thus, making a woman seem more appealing to the man for ‘mating’. People fail too realize that just like wild animals we to give off a ‘mating call’ throughout appearance. In comparison, to a male peacock who struts his feathers. Human females wear makeup to impersonate the face of an ovulating woman. When most women are ovulating they tend to give off a “glow” with rosy cheeks and lips because their hormones are raging causing a heavy blood flow throughout the body and appearing a certain undertone of the woman’s face. Giving reasoning why makeup tones are normally in red tones. An assisting professor at the Gettysburgh College named Dr. Richard Rusell performed a study in which he showed the same face twice with and without makeup to prove women look more feminine when wearing makeup. In result, more appealing to the males eye.

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Some guys are probably reading this post and do not agree with women wearing makeup. They prefer the ‘natural’ female. That is a lie. A study has been performed where men met choose the woman he finds most attractive. Not realizing that it is the same women just with and without makeup men have chosen women who wear makeup to be more attractive. Leaving me to believe that men do not dislike makeup because women do not look attractive but because it’s deceiving. So, thanks for the compliment gentlemen but we all know makeup is beneficial.

Not only does makeup help a woman feel beautiful and perceive her mating call it also helps her become successful. Based upon economist Daniel S. Hamermesh’s book, ‘Beauty Pays’, beautiful people are more successful. In the book the author, explains how beauty gives a person confidence. With confidence comes networking, with networking comes clientele and job offers. I noticed that while working at Red Lobster as a waitress I would receive more tips on the days I wore makeup to the days I would not wear makeup.

So, ladies its okay if you wear makeup for the attention of man, blame it on your natural animal instinct. If you wear makeup for self satisfaction, that’s completely fine too. Just make sure you reap the benefits makeup can give you, whether its a successful job or a new man.

I am a senior majoring in Advertising and Public relation Communications, minoring in a new minor DMTA (Digital Media Trends and Analytics). Although I attend Penn State; I am a “city-girl” from northern New Jersey and passionate about fashion. I am a former Style Guru fashion blogger for a company based in NYC CollegeFashionista.
Besides my love for fashion, I am a lover for all things Advertising, media and pop culture. My goal is to work for one of the top fortune 500 magazine companies, GQ, as a creative director. Once accomplished, I would like to construct my own brand as an entertainment stylist. As well as, becoming CEO of my own multi-specialized Public Relation firm.

So, why this science course? Well, in order for me to succeed in my career I must first obtain a degree. Science is a required course and my adviser, recommended me to take science 200. Majority of the students she knows enjoy and pass the class. So, here I am.

With that being said I never enjoyed science nor’ have had interest in becoming a Scientist. I like to think of myself as a creative and science doesn’t scream creativity. Its main focus are theories and hypotheses. In my opinion, science is something you “do” its something you learn. In contrary, to fashion and communications which allows you to express yourself.
I never thought Fashion and Science would correlate until I read this post A Fushion between Fashion & Science. This article explains how fashion is a science of appearance. I thought it was pretty cool and think you guys should check it out.